GUWAHATI, Nov 16 � Devakanta Borooah would be remembered by posterity in the centuries to come as one of the greatest Assamese poets while his role as a politician and a Congress president would be long forgotten.
This was observed by veteran journalist DN Chakravartty while presiding over the 122nd sitting of the Brihattar Panjabari Sahitya Sabha on Sunday.
Chakravartty said that Devakanta Borooah � a voracious reader who had 15,000 books in his personal library � was one of the notable authorities on ancient and medieval ancient history and was one of the most successful speakers in the Legislative Assemblies of free India.
�Had Devakanta Borooah devoted himself to study and research of history, he would have been another Jadunath Sarkar if not an Arnold Toynbee. And if he had devoted himself exclusively to the pursuit of poetry, he would have won the Nobel Prize for literature,� Chakravartty said.
Dr Sunil Pawan Baruah, who addressed the meeting as chief guest, explained the true meaning of �intellectual� and observed that an intellectual worth his name would never compromise with his conviction and would be ready to face gigantic challenges even at the risk of life.
He dwelt on length on the present-day confusion in society where a majority of the people failed to distinguish the real truth from the maze of pretensions and untruth.
Dr Surendra Mohan Mahanta, Tabiul Hussain and Ranajit Sutradhar, in their speeches, analysed different aspects of the richness of Assamese literature and stressed the importance of such literary discussion for the enrichment of the minds of the masses.
Earlier, Urmila Chakravartty, convenor of the meeting, welcomed the guests.
